A family from Claygate is coming to terms with the loss of their pet cat, which was shot by an air rifle.

A vet telephoned Amira Girgis, a mother-of-two from Ruxley Ridge, on July 2 to tell her that her cat Muffin had been brought in by the RSPCA after being run over.

Ms Girgis explained: “I was out on a day trip with my youngest daughter’s class and a vet rang me up to say she believed they had found my number via my cat’s microchip.

“She did some X-rays and rang me back an hour later and said ‘she hasn’t been run over, she has been shot.’”

Muffin was found in Hill View Road, near to Ms Girgis’ house, and the vet’s X-rays revealed a pellet in her spine.

Ms Girgis, who had Muffin since she was a kitten, was distressed by the news, but had to have the upsetting conversation with the vet in front of her family without making it obvious what had happened.

Later that day Muffin, a black tortoiseshell cat, was put down, as the air rifle shot had left her two back legs paralysed.

Ms Girgis said the police visited the house the next morning and made door-to-door enquiries in the road where it happened.

The Girgis family has two other cats, one of which is the sister of Muffin.

Ms Girgis said: “They are not house cats, they come and go as they please.

“They have definitely been hanging round the house the past few weeks.

“I get the feeling they know something is not quite right.”

And Muffin’s case is not an isolated one, as recent RSPCA figures reveal that the number of air rifle attacks on animals is rising.

In 2012, 799 incidents were reported to the RSPCA, an increase of 40 compared to 2011.

For the first six months of 2013, 438 reports were received.

The RSPCA is worried the overall figure for 2013 is set to increase again as the majority of air weapon attacks happen in the summer months, with an average of 60 reports received by the RSPCA each month between April and August in 2012.

Although cats are by far the most targeted domestic animal, dogs, wild birds and other wildlife have also been in the firing line.

James Yeates, chief veterinary officer at the RSPCA, said: “Cats and wildlife are often the target of air rifle attacks, simply because they are out in the open with no one to protect them.

“The injuries caused by such attacks are horrific and often fatal.

“These attacks are often deliberate, by people who just don’t care about hurting animals or are deliberately targeting animals to keep them away from gardens.”

Mr Yeates said the perpetrators need to understand that these attacks are illegal and they face up to six months in prison if caught.

He added: “The fact that we have received almost 800 reports of injured animals is deeply worrying and shows we still need to keep up our work to stop such attacks.”